Christmas Crafts Day!

Sometimes in the hustle and bustle of getting ready for Christmas it is easy to lose the sense of fun that should always be around this season. Shopping, food prep, making lists and checking them twice … it can all get a bit overwhelming so sometimes it is nice to take a few hours and sit around doing something relaxing, fun and crafty to get you back in the mood. There is nothing like sitting around with a glue stick, ribbon and glitter to fling you right back to your childhood.

This is also a great way to get make some personalised decorations and cards if you want to add a homemade touch to your Christmas gifting.

A couple of buddies, preferable one with two beautiful children to help with getting glitter everywhere
Coffee
Wine
Cheese
Crackers
Christmas music

If you are going to work with glue and glitter please put down some old newspapers or some plastic sheeting on your table as despite your best efforts the glitter will end up sticking everywhere, this morning I was still brushing it out of my hair post shower.
There are no real instructions here. Get some supplies, all of ours came from a fabric shop, an art & hobby shop and most importantly from a Euro store. Don’t spend too much money on your supplies unless you are a seasoned professional otherwise the fear will get you and you will be so worried about making a mistake that you will stifle all your creative impulses.

This should be fun, browse the internet for suggestions, there are approximately one billion Christmas decorations ideas out there. Be inspired and give things your own twist.

One of our group proved to be a genius at making beautiful cards, the simplest and most effective card she made was as follows:

Cut a sheet of A4 card in half to give you two A5 sheets, fold these to a card shape.

Measure out various coloured ribbons and cut them in graduated sizes so they make a Christmas tree shape when arranged on the card.

When you are happy with the look of your design use the glue stick to secure the ribbons in place.

Add a star or heart or some glitter to the top of your tree and leave to dry. Simple dimple and very pretty.

To make felt ornaments simply cut a cardboard shape and cut your felt to match, glue to the card and then stitch around with gold thread to secure and for a lovely decorative edging. This is meant to look handmade so don’t go mad striving for perfection. Stitch or glue on a loop of gold thread so you can hang your ornament.

For a gorgeous nightlight holder take a clean jam jar, and cut a length of card to fit around the jar. Draw a Christmas scene, gingerbread house, snow and, tree on the inside of the piece of card and then cut around the design , stick the card around the outside of the glass and lightly spray the jar with fake snow or glue and glitter for a sparkly effect. Allow to dry and then pop in your nightlight, The candle light will glow around the silhouette of your design and will be lovely against a dark window.

Another jam jar ornament was made by gluing a Euro store snowman to the inside of the lid of a jar, spraying the inside of the jar with fake snow and filling it with snow like sparkles, twist the lid on to the jar and turn it upside down so it rests on its lid, Decorate the lid with ribbon and there you have a lovely water free snow globe.
Don’t be precious or worried that your efforts will look stupid, have fun with this. You can’t go far wrong with glue and glitter. The main point of this exercise is to take some time, hang out with friends, family or your kids and have some fun.